About Us

Who We Are

Mission

The Professional Staff Congress is the union that represents more than 27,000 faculty and staff at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the CUNY Research Foundation. It is dedicated to advancing the professional lives of its members, enhancing their terms and conditions of employment, and maintaining the strength of the nation's largest, oldest and most visible urban public university.

In the past decade, unions have become increasingly critical to professional workers and higher education as pressure builds to corporatize the university and allow market forces rather than professional judgment to determine academic policy. With its long history and strong affiliations, the PSC is a forceful advocate for the professional conditions that allow its members to offer a serious education to all New Yorkers.

The union negotiates, administers and enforces collective bargaining agreements; protects the rights of staff through the grievance and arbitration process; engages in political activity on behalf of CUNY and its staff and students; and advocates for the interests of the instructional staff in its various forums. It also provides benefits and services to its members through such related organizations as the PSC/CUNY Welfare fund and New York State United Teachers (NYSUT).

Affiliates and Partners

Like many labor unions, the PSC is affiliated with several larger labor organizations. By affiliating, unions magnify their power and extend their reach in city, state and federal politics. A portion of the dues paid by members helps to support our affiliates, and the PSC plays an energetic role in shaping our affiliates’ policies.

The PSC is a “local” (Local 2334) of one of the largest labor unions in the country, the American Federation of Teachers, which represents more higher education workers than any other union. Through the AFT, the PSC is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

At the state level, the PSC is an affiliate of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), which includes education unions throughout the state and is a major force in Albany, and the Working Families Party, which is a progressive grassroots coalition of community organizations, neighborhood activists, and labor unions. In New York City, we are part of two city labor bodies: the NYC Central Labor Council (CLC), which is the municipal affiliate of the AFL-CIO and represents 1.2 million workers in private and public-sector unions, and the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC), which represents public-sector workers and negotiates the health insurance for New York City employees.